L-R: Vincent Assafuah, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, and Alban Bagbin
On Tuesday, November 29, 2025, the word “tsobo” sparked debates in Parliament during the 2026 Budget debate.
Parliamentarians are sometimes known to use colorful and dramatic expressions that are deemed unparliamentary to emphasise their arguments. As such, the use of “tsobo,” a slang term in Ghanaian parlance, by the Member of Parliament for Old Tafo, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, was not taken lightly by the Majority side.
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During proceedings, Assafuah accused the government of inflating the prices of sanitary pads, referring to them as a ‘tsobo’ government.
He argued that although the Ministry of Finance had earlier announced a drastic reduction in prices, the figures presented in the 2026 Budget appeared to show inflation instead.
In response, the Majority Chief Whip, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, strongly objected to his colleague’s use of the word “tsobo,” describing it as unparliamentary. He called for the term to be expunged from the Hansard.
On a lighter note, amid the stir, Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin, who appeared not to understand the meaning of the word “tsobo,” sought clarification.
His confusion and attempt to grasp its meaning threw the chamber into a fit of laughter among some lawmakers.
Read the conversation that ensued in Parliament below:
Assafuah: Mr Speaker, the Ministry of Finance posted this on their Facebook wall. They said that sanitary pads have reduced from GH¢25 to GH¢15. According to their own words, if indeed a sanitary pad is now GH¢15, why are they now accounting to the people of Ghana that one sanitary pad is GH¢45? This is a tsobo government.
Dafeamekpor: Mr Speaker, I rise in pursuance of Order 123(1), content of speech. The Honorable Assafuah refers to the government as tsobo government. Mr Speaker, that is very unparliamentary.
Bagbin: Sorry, I didn’t hear the statement.
Dafeamekpor: Mr Speaker, you may not have heard it, but it has gone into the Hansard. Mr Speaker, the Honorable Member, as part of his commentary, said the NDC government is a tsobo government. Mr Speaker, that is unparliamentary. You can say so on radio, but in this House, that language is not permissible, and so, Mr Speaker, I am seeking your guidance that that portion of the speech be expunged. Mr Speaker, thank you.
Bagbin: Are you mentioning the word T-O-G-O? Did you say Togo government?
Dafeamekpor: Mr Speaker, not Togo. He said tsobo.
Bagbin: Choco? Choco.
Dafeamekpor: Tsobo. C-H-O-B-O or T-S-O-B-O.
Bagbin: Honorable Member, please, did you say the government is tsobo government?
Assafuah: Mr Speaker, precisely so.
Bagbin: What does that mean?
Assafuah: Mr Speaker, that means that 6.6 million pads that we could have used GH¢99 million, they are using GH¢292 million to buy. More than three times of the amount.
Bagbin: Please, the meaning of tsobo government.
Assafuah: Mr Speaker, it means wasteful. You can also say that there is no value for money.
Dafeamekpor: Mr Speaker, not at all. Mr Speaker, it is a strict expression for fleecing somebody. When you are fleecing somebody, that is the phrase we use that you are taking tsobo from the person. You are fleecing the person, and that is what he is suggesting.
Bagbin: Honorable Members, these are words I don’t know which language, but I don’t understand the meaning of tsobo at all, and particularly the spelling, I am told either it is C-H-O-B-O or C-H-O-G-O or whatever. I don’t know.
MAG/AE
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